Injury issues in NB

This appears to be an editorial. I found it on the firefightingincanada.com site.

It is mind boggling that the province will dock fire fighters pay when they are injured on the job.

It is mind boggling that the province will dock fire fighters pay when they are injured on the job.

The board of directors of the New Brunswick Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission have had a recommendation before the provincial government for two years now that it alter legislation to allow fire fighters and police officers in the province to be paid full benefits and salary when injured on the job. Since 1993 these workers, when injured, lose three days' pay.

It is truly mind-boggling that this is even an issue or up for discussion in this day and age. These are public employees working often long hours and under dangerous conditions to protect the public, sometimes saving lives, and our government through inaction actually penalizes them when they have the misfortune to suffer an injury in the line of duty. It ought not to have taken the government two years to figure out what the right thing to do is. Perhaps Training and Employment Development Minister Norm McFarlane and the rest of cabinet ought to be docked three days pay as well, since they appear to be suffering from an unusual job-related malaise causing an inability to act.

There is considerable irony and injustice in this situation. Time and again in this province we have seen police officers, and even a judge, who have been accused of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour suspended from their jobs with full pay and benefits often for many months. Yet when a police officer or fire fighter doing their job to the best of their ability and sometimes beyond the call of duty is injured, the same bureaucratic system of government deems it necessary to dock them three days' worth of pay, money which is a significant amount to a personal budget.

Put simply, this is just not right.

Nor, as WHSCC officials note, is the fear expressed by some in private enterprise that exempting the two professions could lead to a similar demand from industry and thus higher rates justified. The WHSCC board itself made the recommendation and it is significant that private industry has representatives on the board. Its views have been heard and represented and the recommendation is clear. If the minister or government is ignoring this in favour of listening to private lobbying fears, then it must be asked what's the point of having the board and its expertise? This is short-circuiting of a process that works and is fair. It is past time to do the right thing.